a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a protective covering, especially for protecting and covering a realtor's lock box, wherein the protective covering protects the adjacent door from being scratched, and incorporates various means for advertising and posting messages. The protective covering is not limited in use to residential dwellings, but is suitable for any premises having lock box arrangement which limits access to the premises.
b) Description of Related Art
At the present time, when a new or unoccupied home is being shown by a realtor, the realtor generally gains access to the home via a lock box which is locked to the doorknob stem on the front door of the home. The lock box itself is a small key safe, which is opened by either another key in the realtor's possession or by one of a number of keyless entry systems which are well known. These boxes, which contain keys to the house, are loosely suspended on the doorknob stem; thus, can swing and scrape the door.
Generally, the lock box itself does not provide any identification of the realtor. Moreover, it is often the case that the listing agent or owner desires to leave a message on behalf of the owner for other realtors who may visit the house. However, the aforementioned lock boxes provide no means by which to post messages or advertisements for other visitors or prospective customers.
Further, many lock boxes in use today operate on a keyless entry system whereby the realtor mounts a keypad to the lock box and enters an electronic code, or inserts an access card to magnetically unlock the lock box. U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,987, which describes such a keyless-entry or electronic-key-operated entry system, is hereby incorporated by reference. While these systems achieve the self same objective as a key, such systems are more susceptible to damage from the elements of nature. The need therefore exists for a protective covering which shields the lock box from environmental conditions which may lead to damage or wear on the lock box, i.e., the exposed electrical contacts on the lock box become coated with debris, or the surface of the lock box becomes unsightly due to wear.